Tetraprism Telephoto Lens to be Available on Both iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max

Recently, MacRumors has received information indicating that Apple intends to implement the tetraprism telephoto lens on both iPhone 16 Pro and ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ Max in 2024.

iPhone 16 Pro Mock Header Updated

Our findings align with claims made by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo back in September, which were recently reiterated. The Elec also published a report earlier this month which makes the same claim about tetraprism availability, albeit with more details.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max features a tetraprism telephoto camera. The folded glass structure within it uses a tetraprism design which repeatedly reflects light, allowing for up to 5x optical zoom, up from 3x on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

This year, the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ was released without the new-and-improved tetraprism telephoto camera, likely due to spatial constraints. The components necessary for the tetraprism camera occupy significantly more space than the telephoto camera currently found on the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌, and consequently would not fit in the smaller 6.1” device.

With the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌, Apple intends to increase the overall size of the devices, with the displays of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max measuring roughly 6.3" and 6.9", respectively. The increased device sizes would provide ample room for the new tetraprism telephoto camera, and internal documentation seen by MacRumors corroborates this change.

Internal documentation detailing the camera module design for the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ reveals that the module bears significant resemblance to the module used in the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max. At a glance, the area containing the tetraprism components can be easily identified.

It is important to consider that the information provided here constitutes pre-production information and may not reflect the hardware found on final mass production units. The ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ is still many months away and changes are always possible.

For more details on what to expect, check out our rumor roundup page for the iPhone 16 Pro.

Related Roundup: iPhone 16 Pro

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
New MacBook Pros Launching Tomorrow With These 4 New Features 2

M5 MacBook Models to Use New Compact Camera Module in 2025

Wednesday July 17, 2024 2:58 am PDT by
Apple in 2025 will take on a new compact camera module (CCM) supplier for future MacBook models powered by its next-generation M5 chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Writing in his latest investor note on unny-opticals-2025-business-momentum-to-benefit-509819818c2a">Medium, Kuo said Apple will turn to Sunny Optical for the CCM in its M5 MacBooks. The Chinese optical lens company...
Apple Watch Series 9

2024 Apple Watch Lineup: Key Changes We're Expecting

Tuesday July 16, 2024 7:59 am PDT by
Apple is seemingly planning a rework of the Apple Watch lineup for 2024, according to a range of reports from over the past year. Here's everything we know so far. Apple is expected to continue to offer three different Apple Watch models in five casing sizes, but the various display sizes will allegedly grow by up to 12% and the casings will get taller. Based on all of the latest rumors,...

Top Rated Comments

McWetty Avatar
8 months ago
Don’t want a bigger phone… please, for the love of Jobs, make an iPhone Pro mini.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
8 months ago

Don’t want a bigger phone… please, for the love of Jobs, make an iPhone Pro mini.
Here it is.



It’s so mini you can wear it on your wrist.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DocMultimedia Avatar
8 months ago
Can I pre-order yet? Want best camera, but can't deal with a Max. Skipped this year.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Justin Cymbal Avatar
8 months ago
I’m glad that Apple might be making the new tetraprism telephoto lens available on both the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max instead of what Apple did this year in only making the better camera available on the iPhone 15 Pro Max

I much prefer the smaller sized screen over the max version so I’m glad that there’s a possibility that the only differentiating factor in the iPhone 16 Pro model phones will be the screen size and not the camera features
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
8 months ago
I hope this pans out. I've had a large iPhone since the iPhone 6 Plus and I'm kind of done with large iPhones. As a photographer, I do want a proper telephoto so being able to choose the smaller iPhone is going to be great.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citysnaps Avatar
8 months ago

I am not keeping my hope up on these lenses offering better image quality than this years iPhone, especially if 90% of the final photo is the result of heavy post-processing.
I would say 90% of what makes a compelling photograph comes from the photographer and his/her ability to see, compose, evaluate the quality of light, recognize gesture, the potential of releasing narrative in a viewer's mind, and on and on.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)